1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-line roller skate. More particularly, the invention has an advantageous application in the practice of so-called xe2x80x9caggressivexe2x80x9d skating. However, the invention is not limited to this particular inline roller skating discipline and can be used on skates for hockey, racing, or even those intended for recreational practice (also called xe2x80x9cfitnessxe2x80x9d skating).
2. Description of Background and Material Information
In a known way, a skate is constituted by a chassis comprising a longitudinal bottom part, generally formed by parallel lateral walls, on which the wheels are arranged; this bottom part is overlaid by a plate intended for the fastening of the sole of a boot.
The evolution of the art in the field of in-line roller skates has provided solutions in response to needs that have arisen from the practice, such as the need to allow a certain number of adjustments, for example the adjustment of the angular position of the chassis relative to the axis of the boot.
In practice, it has been determined that the skater""s foot should not be positioned inside the boot on a flat-soled surface; on the contrary, the heel is preferably raised relative to the rest of the foot, which has the effect of improving the maneuverability of the skate. For this reason, it is known to use chassis having a receiving plate formed by a part for the front of the foot and a heel part that are vertically offset, the heel part being raised relative to the rear part. As a general rule, the greater the offset, the better the maneuverability.
In order to give the skater great maneuverability in his skates, the height differences (offsets) can vary between 11 and 20 mm, or even 25 mm.
The solution of offsetting the plate of the chassis has some drawbacks. In particular, in the practice of xe2x80x9caggressivexe2x80x9d skating, the lower surface of the plate serves as a surface for sliding along various supports such as rails, bars or curbs. A height difference between a front part and a rear part of the plate causes problems in finding equilibrium during sliding.
Another drawback arises from the fact that it is necessary to provide for the use of a chassis having an offset specific to a boot type and to the discipline practiced. Thus, it is difficult to find a standard chassis which, for example, can adapt to a wide variety of boots or can be used in different disciplines.
Another problem known in certain disciplines, like the practice of xe2x80x9caggressivexe2x80x9d or other types of skating, relates to the lack of shock absorption during the many impacts sustained by skaters in the area of the heels, as in landing on the ground after jumps, for example. It is, of course, known to arrange shock absorbing elements between the chassis and the shell of the boot, but this also has drawbacks. In particular, it is possible to observe a substantial loss of energy in the forces transmitted by the skater between the shell of the boot and the chassis supporting the wheels, as well as a loss in the return of information from the ground to the skater""s foot. The linkage between the shell and the chassis is also more difficult to obtain and can cause stability problems. It is also possible to observe a poorer maneuverability of the skates due to the positioning of the shock absorbing interface between the two basic elements of the skate.
Therefore, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a solution which makes it possible to meet the needs linked to the height difference between the support of the heel of the foot and the support at the level of the metatarsi in order to retain the maneuverability of the skate, while having a chassis of simplified design adapted to specific types of practices such as xe2x80x9caggressivexe2x80x9d skating. More precisely, a chassis adapted to the practice of xe2x80x9caggressivexe2x80x9d skating is a chassis having an appropriate sliding surface without any height offset at the level of its plate. According to the object sought, a chassis of this type also has the advantage of lending itself more easily to standardization and interchangeability.
Another object of the invention is to provide a skate that offers both a satisfactory solution to the raising of the heel, as mentioned above, while providing appropriate shock absorption without an excessive loss of transmission of forces between the foot and the wheels, and while providing the skate with good maneuverability.
To this end, the invention relates to an in-line roller skate having a boot and a chassis, the chassis having a longitudinal bottom part on which are arranged a plurality of wheels equipped with rotating axles aligned along a reference plane, which bottom part is overlaid by a plate adapted to receive the sole of the boot, wherein the boot has an internal wedging element arranged at the bottom of the boot in order to define the angular position of at least part of the foot relative to the reference plane, by producing a height difference between the support plane of the heel of the foot and the plantar support plane in the area of the metatarsi.
According to a complementary characteristic, the internal wedging element constitutes a shock absorbing element having an elastically deformable material.